TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” Acts 8:36
Read: Acts 8:34-40
Listen: Acts 8
TODAY’S MESSAGE
For hundreds of years, Jewish culture taught access to God came through a complicated set of laws, and a religious system meant only for Jews. Anybody outside their religious and ethnic culture wasn’t fully welcome. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jewish Jesus-followers still struggle to understand anybody could come to God through Jesus. God demonstrates how all people are welcome as the eunuch is baptized and welcomed into the family of God. This represented a massive cultural shift for the Jewish Christians and was a difficult transition for them.
God’s heart is for those on the outside. His plan always included using his people to reach those who feel rejected, ostracized, outcast and abandoned.
This is still his plan for his followers today. It isn’t easy to extend grace, friendship and love to those with different cultures, beliefs or lifestyles. We may struggle to love a group of people we disagree with, those who vote differently than we do, someone from a particular race, a different part of town, or with a differing sexual orientation. God isn’t asking we agree with or condone decisions that go against his word, but he does desire everyone come to understand and believe in him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be part of inviting people in who may not otherwise feel welcome.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Just like Jewish culture taught the only way to God was to be Jewish, our culture gives us messages about who is welcomed and who isn’t. Wrap up your week thinking about what types of people or groups our culture has taught us to exclude. Ask God to help you do the hard work of leaning in and allow him to shape your heart to accurately reflect his in the world.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
